Sesame Street Employees Never in Romney’s Camp

Adults have flocked to defend beloved Muppet Big Bird since Tuesday night, when Mitt Romney threatened to cut PBS funding during the first presidential debate. Several Twitter accounts gave voice to the concerns of the jobless Elmo, Big Bird and Grover while Mitt Romney seemed to effectively lose the Sesame Street electorate.

But he never had them anyway. Sesame Street Workshop employees have given $7,250 to the President, according to OpenSecrets research, and zilch to Romney–exactly the amount he would be giving to them.

PBS issued a statement in defense of its services, noting that its funding makes up one one-hundredth of one percent of the federal budget even though it’s viewed by most Americans.

“Over the course of a year, 91 percent of all U.S. television households tune in to their local PBS station. In fact, our service is watched by 81 percent of all children between the ages of 2-8,” the statement said.

Republicans have repeatedly threatened to cut PBS funding. Whether in response to that or for other reasons, Corporation for Public Broadcasting employees have given Democrats nearly 80 percent of the almost $11,000 they’ve donated in the 2012, 2010 and 2008 election cycles.

Despite these numbers, at least one Republican supports PBS. David H. Koch, one of the libertarian brothers of Koch Industries, is one of the largest donors to NOVA, PBS’s series of science documentaries. He gives so much that he is the only individual donor listed on its website.

PBS has not yet responded to our request for comment. We will update this post if it does.

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